True Worship, Part 2 B

Acceptable worship is really a key to understanding the whole matter of salvation. The goal of salvation is to produce acceptable worshipers.

Did you get that? So if you're truly saved, you're an acceptable worshiper. If you're an acceptable worshiper, you've truly come into God's presence. When you communicate the gospel, what is it you're mainly trying to do? Get people to see their need to add God to their lives? That's not it. Help them see how happy and prosperous their lives would be if they would accept Jesus? That's not it either. How about confront people with their sin?

Well, that's true, but even that's not the primary thing. Today on Grace To You, you may be in for a surprise as John MacArthur takes you to God's Word and shows you the goal of evangelism, really the goal of salvation. So follow along with John MacArthur as he continues his compelling study titled, True Worship. We return tonight in our study to the theme of worship, and I would draw your attention to John's gospel again, chapter 4, and I want to read again verses 20 through 24 as the setting for our message. John's gospel, chapter 4, verse 20. The Holy Spirit writing through John says, Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and ye say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.

Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh when ye shall neither in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what? We know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh and now is when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. Our Lord instructs here that we must worship God in spirit and in truth, for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. And so, essentially, worship, then, is giving respect or honor to God, and we are called to that end. I suggested to you that there are four reasons why worship is essential, four reasons why it is important. Reason number one is because Scripture so repeatedly speaks of worship. Worship is important, then, first of all, because it is such a major emphasis in Scripture. Then, secondly, worship is important because all of time and eternity depends on it. Destiny is determined by worship. When you come to God with acceptable worship, it affects your destiny. It manifests the life of God within you. Now, I think just as a beginning point, let me read to you what I think is maybe a very significant definition of a true, acceptable worshiper. Psalm 24, 3. Just listen to it.

Write it down. Psalm 24, 3 to 6 says this, Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord, or who shall stand in His holy place? Now, what does that mean? That means who is going to be what?

Accepted. When they approach God and they want to come into His hill, when they want to stand in His holy place, who will He accept? He will not accept the one who worships a false god, the one who worships a true god in a wrong manner, in a self-styled way, or with a wrong attitude.

Who will He accept? Here it is, verse 4. He who hath clean hands and a pure heart, who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully, he shall receive the blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of them who seek Him, who seek Thy face. Those who are acceptable are the ones who have clean hands. That is, they are in obedience to God, purified and made clean, who have pure hearts. Their motive, their desire is right.

They are blessed, and they are the generation who truly seek God. The fact is that if you come to God on your own terms, man-made terms, you're not seeking God. You're seeking only to pacify your own imagination.

Now, stay with me. Here comes really the heart and soul of our whole study, so get your brain screwed down tight and don't miss anything. Acceptable worship is really a key to understanding the whole matter of salvation. Hang on to this thought. The goal of salvation is to produce acceptable worshipers.

Did you get that? The goal of salvation is to produce acceptable worshipers. So if you're truly saved, you're an acceptable worshiper.

If you're an acceptable worshiper, you've truly come into God's presence. And thus, as we look at your worship, as you examine your worship, you can understand whether or not you're saved. Now, let me show you some Scripture to help you understand this. Back to our text, John 4. John 4.

And get your Bible handy because I'm going to show you several. John 4, verse 23. The hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers... Now, beloved, that is a term to describe a Christian, a saint, a true believer. We could as well be called true worshipers as we are called Christians. We could as well be called true worshipers as we are called believers or saints or children of God or any other term to describe our identity and our union with Christ. We are true worshipers who worship the Father in spirit and in truth. Now, we don't always do it as fully as we ought, but look at the end of verse 23. For the Father seeketh such to worship Him. Do you know why the Father sent the Son into the world?

Very clear. Jesus said, I am come to seek and to save that which was lost. For what purpose? For what purpose? Why did God send Christ to seek sinners and save them?

It says it right here. Because the Father seeks such to do what? To do what? To worship Him. That's the reason you're redeemed.

Do you understand that? You were not redeemed primarily to keep you out of hell. If God wanted to keep you out of hell, He could have just not created you. He would have accomplished the same thing. And you wouldn't have missed it. You wouldn't have missed heaven because you wouldn't have known about it.

You wouldn't be. You see, the reason you're saved is not to make you happy, as nice as it is and as happy as it may make you. The reason you're saved is to worship God. You were redeemed because the Father seeks some to worship Him. That is the sole reason why God created man and set out to redeem him because God sought such to worship.

So worshiping God is synonymous with Christian existence, with being a believer. In Acts chapter 18, we can build our case further. Verse 7, it says, and Paul, of course, from his missionary journey departed from Athens, verse 1, and came to Corinth. And verse 7 says, departed from there, entered into a certain man's house named Titus Justice. Now, he departed from the synagogue because he ran into such flak with the Jews, and he went into the house of a man named Titus Justice. Listen, one who what? Worshiped God.

What does that mean? That's just another way of saying he was a believer. He was a believer. He was a believer. He worshiped God. That is what a believer is, one who worships God.

And if that is what we are, then don't you see how important it is that we truly worship as fully as we are? Verse 13, the Jews attack Paul, and they bring him into the judgment seat to Gallio, and this is their accusation. This fellow persuadeth men to worship God. You know what Paul's ministry was? You know what he was doing in his ministry?

He was persuading men to do what? Worship God. That's synonymous with salvation.

Do you see what I'm trying to point out? That's what the view of his ministry was. You see, why I'm in the ministry is to bring people to the point where they can worship God because it is right. We do not evangelize in order that you might be kept from hell.

That is secondary. We do not primarily evangelize in order that you may be, quote, unquote, blessed. We evangelize in order that you might worship God, who is worthy, because for you to live apart from worshiping God is an affront to his holy nature, and you are a rebel in his world. Paul was accused of persuading men to worship God, only they thought it was contrary to the right system.

But how interesting. By the way, do you realize that when Jesus gave in John 4 that tremendous speech on how to worship, do you realize who he gave that to? He did not give that to a theologian. He did not give that to an erudite Pharisee. He did not give that to a Cornelius who was a God-fearing Jew. He gave it to a prostitute.

That's right. He preached worship to a prostitute who had a whole handful of husbands and was living with a man who wasn't her husband. He gave it to a woman who was a prostitute who could have cared less. She wasn't even one with an awakened heart and she didn't even seek God. She wasn't even interested. She doesn't even show any curiosity. He just walked up flat, cold turkey to a harlot and told her how to worship God.

Why? Because that's the heart and soul of evangelism. We are calling men to worship because God is worthy of worship. And when you understand that, you'll understand how tragic it is then for the Christian who understands that he is called and redeemed to worship God, to not worship God as fully as God ought to be worshiped. And that was the thrust of Paul's ministry. In Acts 24, 14, when Paul discusses with Felix his perspective, his theology, if you will, I love what he says in verse 14. But this I confess unto thee.

I'll just confess. Here's where I'm at. After the way which they call heresy, the way, you can put quotes around it, the way was a term for the Christian faith. After the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers. Now, when Paul gives his testimony, he says, I worship the God of my fathers after the way called or after the Christian faith called the way. So Paul called people to worship God. And when he gave his own testimony, he said, I worship God. We say that too little.

You know that? When's the last time you evangelized somebody in that manner? He said, I worship God after the manner of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Now, the gospel record supports this concept. Go back with me to Matthew, and I'll show you something very interesting.

But as you trace, just take Matthew, and we won't go into Mark or Luke or John, but I just want to take Matthew. And let me show you that the gospel record supports the fact that people are redeemed for the purpose of worship. People who see the truth of Christ have an immediate response of worship. And that means to give honor and homage and respect and reverence and adoration and praise to one who is above you, to God Himself. Let's begin in Matthew 2, and I'll just run you through maybe six, seven, or eight passages, and you'll see it.

Matthew 2, 11, we come to the birth of Christ and the arrival of the kingmakers of the east. And when they were coming to the house, verse 11 says, they saw the young child with Mary as mother, and they fell down and what? Worshiped him. That was the first thing they did. They fell down and worshiped.

Why? Because that is the initial response to the reality of Christ. Go to chapter 8, verse 2. Jesus come down from the mountain, great multitude followed him, and behold, there came a leper. And what did the leper do?

What did he do? He worshiped him and said, Lord. You see, he knew who he was, and he worshiped him. Go to chapter 9, verse 18. While he spoke these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and what did he do? He worshiped him. He worshiped him.

Go to chapter 14. Jesus walks on the water. He not only had to control the sea, but he had to control the disciples as well.

Got back to the boat. The wind ceased, verse 32. Then verse 33, and that's Matthew 14, 33.

And now they see who he is. And they that were in the boat came and worshiped him, saying of a truth, Thou art the Son of God. You see, whoever it is, whenever it is, wherever it is, the instantaneous, spontaneous, immediate response to Christ is to worship. Chapter 15, verse 25. A woman of Canaan, and it says in verse 25, Then came she and worshiped him, saying, Lord, help me. She worshiped him.

Same attitude, same response. Well, go all the way to the end of Matthew, chapter 28, verse 9. And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail! And they came and held him by the feet, and worshiped him. Those dear women, just like everybody else, they worshiped him. Verse 16, Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appeared, or appointed them rather. And when they saw him, what? They worshiped him. Some doubted.

Now, just think through this for a minute. The sum of all of that is this. Believers are first and foremost what? Worshippers.

You see that? I mean, that's the essence of the whole thing. That is the essence of what it means when it says the Father seeketh such to worship Him. We have been redeemed to worship.

So important. In 9 31 of John, I just can't resist one out of John. Too good. Jesus heals a man that was born blind. And here, this man born blind makes our case for us because he says this.

He makes a contrast. We know that God does not hear what? Sinners. So on the one hand, God doesn't hear sinners. On the other hand, but if any man be a worshiper of God, even doing his will, him he hears.

Now the man says there are only two options. God either hears you or He doesn't hear you. And so there are only two kinds of people. The people God hears and the people He doesn't hear. The people He doesn't hear are sinners and the people He hears are worshippers. So the contrast is between a sinner and a worshiper. And so the whole of the world can be divided into the sinners and the worshippers. Therefore, to be saved means to be a worshiper.

That becomes then the heart and soul of what we do, you see. When God called Israel, when God called Israel as a nation, do you know that that was His purpose? He called that nation for one express purpose. Deuteronomy 26, 10. And now behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land which thou, O Lord, has given me, and thou shalt set it before the Lord thy God and worship before the Lord thy God. They were called to worship. That's why the tabernacle was there. That's why the temple was there. That's why the priesthood was there.

The whole focus was on worship. Now follow the thought, Deuteronomy 26. Verse 10 is worship.

But you know what gives rise to worship? Go back to verse 5, Deuteronomy 26, 5. Thou shalt speak and say before the Lord thy God, a Syrian ready to perish was my father. And he went down into Egypt and sojourned there with a few and became a nation great, mighty, and populous.

Remember the story? How Joseph accepted his brothers down into Egypt and they came down. They were about to perish in the famine. And Joseph gave them food and they wound up staying in Egypt all those years.

And by the time they left, they were a great nation. And the Egyptians badly treated us. Verse 6 afflicted us, laid us on us hard bondage. And we cried to the Lord God of our fathers. The Lord heard our voice, looked on our affliction, our labor, and our oppression. And the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with awe-inspiring terror and signs and wonders. And he brought us into this place and given us this land, a land that flows with milk and honey. Therefore, he says, worship the Lord thy God.

What are we saying? Worship is the direct response to redemption. And the Old Testament picture of redemption was the deliverance from Egypt, wasn't it? And then in verse 11 he says, and thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the Lord thy God hath given unto thee and under thine house, thou and the Levite and the sojourner who is among you.

Rejoicing. It starts with redemption, and redemption gives rise to worship and rejoicing. I really believe that that's what Paul is saying in Ephesians 1. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings. That's an act of worship. That's a benediction, isn't it? Blessed be the God. That's worship. Blessed be the God.

Why are you saying that? Because He has chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before Him. In love He has predestinated us under the adoption of sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, in whom we have redemption through His blood. And that's why we say, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. You see, worship is the result of redemption. And so, beloved, I submit to you that we're called to worship. Without question, we are called to worship, to render acceptable, true, spiritual worship. And this becomes for us, I mark it, a way of life, a way of life. It is not a sometime thing.

It is an all-the-time thing. I'm going to close with one other Scripture, Hebrews 12, verses 28 and 29. Now, we have been saved to worship.

Have you gotten that picture? Look at Hebrews 12, 28. Wherefore, listen to this, receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved.

Now, stop right there. If you're a Christian, you have received a kingdom which cannot be moved, right? I mean, you have entered into the eternal kingdom of the living Lord Jesus Christ.

You have a kingdom which cannot be moved. And when God comes along in the future and shakes the earth, and He'll shake it, won't He? I mean, He'll shake it so good that the stars fall out of the sky, and the whole earth will be turned in turmoil over again and recreated in the new heaven and the new earth.

God is going to shake it, but we will belong to a kingdom which cannot be shaken, cannot be moved. This is talking then about believers. Now, if we are believers, now follow, then let us have grace by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.

Now, may I help you to make one small alteration in the terms used in the authorized version? And would you change the word serve to worship? For the same Greek word translated serve in that verse. Back in chapter 10, verse 2 is translated worship, latruo. It is worship since we have received a kingdom which cannot be moved. Since we have become worshipers of God, then let us have the graciousness to respond to God who has made us worshipers by worshiping God acceptably.

If we want to put it in Pauline terms, it comes out like this. Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is your spiritual worship. And notice what it says at the end of verse 28, with reverence and godly fear, for our God is a what?

Consuming fire. You better worship God or else. Acceptable worship is the result of salvation, first of all. But really filling out that worship and living up to its fullness is the result of the graciousness of the believer who willingly offers his body in an act of spiritual service whereby he worships God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. Because God is a consuming fire and you need to be worried about the consequence if you don't worship properly. Can I imply this for a minute? If you have trouble in your life, problems in your life, and you go through a checklist as to why these things may be occurring in your life, put at the top of that checklist, perhaps I'm not worshiping God with a true heart and a true spirit.

Perhaps I do not have the grace to worship God acceptably with reverence and godly fear, and the consequences are his chastenings. Well, I can't wait. We're going to find out how this touches every area of life. And then we're going to get into the corporate praise and worship of the assembly and see how that is to work. By the time we're done, I pray God we'll be worshiping in ways we've never worshiped before. This is Grace to You with John MacArthur.

Thanks for being with us. John is chancellor of the Masters University and Seminary. His current study is meant to help you experience true worship.

That's the title of our series. And certainly a big part of worship is giving thanks to God. And John, we recently heard from two listeners who have a lot to praise God for. And their letters are encouraging examples of how God is using his word to transform believers, and even to transform a church. So share those letters with us. Yeah, thank you, Phil. The first one comes from Johan. He writes, My name is Johan. I am a South African living in Saudi Arabia.

As you know, no religion is allowed to be practiced in Saudi Arabia except Islam. But by God's grace, I'm still able to listen to God's word. About two years ago, a friend of mine introduced me to one of your sermons. I was so inspired by it that I started to listen to more of your sermons. This really changed the way I looked at my own beliefs and my Christian life. I love music and always listen to music when I'm in the car.

But now, after downloading the GTY app, that becomes something of the past. These days I'm listening to you in the comfort of my office. I start my day an hour earlier just for this reason. Your sermons and daily messages are so inspiring and you are truly unleashing God's word, God's truth, one verse at a time. So thank you and the entire staff of grace to you. You made a change in my life.

And he signs his name, Johan. Thank you so much. We're glad to be an encouragement to you, my friend. And then this is a letter from a listener named Mike.

I don't even know how I found GTY, but I'm so glad I did. I grew up where the emphasis was on an emotional experience, not the word of God. I'm now 40 years old and a pastor of a church of over a thousand. But it's only in the last few years that I've come to truly understand the gospel. This has changed both how I live and how I preach. We used to do four to six-week series on various topics. But as of late, we're just preaching through books of the Bible.

Last year was Romans and this year is Matthew. I have all your commentaries, and they are my go-to commentary for any New Testament passage. I cannot express enough what a difference and impact your ministry has had on mine, but let me just say thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Wow, thank you, Mike. I would love of all things to do and all influences to have to influence those who teach and preach the word of God because they have the widest impact. That's tremendously encouraging. And you who listen to Grace To You know we teach the Bible verse by verse all across the globe, 24 hours a day, making investments in people's lives and their spiritual health. And radio and the Internet has allowed us to take God's word to people in all sorts of situations, in all sorts of languages, in all places literally around the world. Join us in praying that God's truth would reach people worldwide who desperately need to hear it. You are a bridge that connects Grace To You to the people we are reaching, including listeners in about 200 nations across the globe. So thank you for trusting what we do and supporting us as you're able.

That's right. And, friend, we are reaching pastors like Mike here in the United States and believers like Johan in Saudi Arabia because of the support of people like you. So thank you for helping us take biblical truth to people across continents. And if you want to play a vital personal role in the lives of God's people near and far, contact us today. You can mail a tax-deductible gift to Grace To You, Box 4000, Panorama City, California, 91412. You can also express your support online at gty.org. Or call us weekdays from 730 to 4 o'clock Pacific time at 800-55-GRACE. Again, our phone number here, 800-55-GRACE.

Or go to our website, gty.org. Another way that you can support our mission of teaching the Bible verse by verse is by remembering grace to you in your estate planning. We get a number of questions about supporting grace to you in that way. To find out how to make a legacy gift to Grace To You, give us a call and ask for Paul Ackerman. You can dial toll-free 800-55-GRACE. That's 800-55-GRACE. You can also find information about legacy giving at our website, gty.org. And while you're at our website, be sure to take advantage of our sermon archive. 3,500 messages you can download free of charge. Now for John MacArthur, I'm Phil Johnson, encouraging you to be here tomorrow when John looks at some of the most overlooked but important ways you can worship the Lord. It's another half hour of unleashing God's truth, one verse at a time, on Grace To You.